Sweetest Sin
by burningcries
Summary: After a few friendly encounters, John and Stephanie fall for each other but when the McMahon family disapproves of Stephanie's relationship, the couple does the unthinkable.
1. A Friendly Lift

After a long and painful night, John packed his bags and walked out of the arena and into the parking lot. As he started the car and began to slowly drive out, he saw Stephanie standing in the entrance of the parking lot on her cell phone with her arms folded and looking quite annoyed. John put the car in Park and got out of his car.

"No, wait. You said at midnight the limo will be waiting for me. It's way past midnight and limo. I just—what? No, I called at least a week in advance." Stephanie said over the phone. There was a slight pause before Stephanie noticed John. "Okay. No it's okay you don't need to bring the limo. I'll figure something out." She told the person on the other line and hung up.

"Is everything all right?" John asked. "I wish. It's cold, I'm shivering and there's no way for me to get home." Stephanie complained. "I'll give you a ride home." John suggested. "No, don't. It's okay. I'll just call my brother and ask him to come pick me up." Stephanie replied. "Why? You're gonna wait out in this cold for him? Just get in my car. I'll drop you off. It's not like I have to get up early tomorrow." John said. "Well… actually, you do." Stephanie corrected. "That's what you think." John joked. "No wonder people have been writing complaints about you!" she realized. John began to laugh and shook his head. "You're so gullible."

He got back in his car, drove up to Stephanie and rolled down the window. "Would you rather get sick while waiting out here for someone who will never show up, or would you rather get in a car with a friend and have him drop you off wherever you wanna be?" John asked. Stephanie smiled and picked up her bags. "You're not going to let go of this so I might as well get in your car, right?" she asked as she walked up to his face. John just stared at her as they smiled. Stephanie opened the back door and tossed her bags in there. She got in the car and John drove off.

"So where you off to?" John asked. "Just drop me off at the Hyatt." She answered. "Okay." He said as he made a turn at the light. He yawned and rested his right arm on the armrest by his side as he drove with his left hand. He leaned closer to Stephanie to get comfortable as Stephanie moved away from him.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I drive like this. I can't sit straight when I drive. I have to be leaning. Don't ask." John explained. "Okay, good. For a moment I thought you were trying to get closer to me." She joked. "No," he laughed. "Sorry I didn't mention that. That's just how I drive."

"So you wanna get something to eat?" Stephanie suggested. "Where? Is there even a place open at this hour?" he asked. "Yeah. Crazy Moose is open." She answered. "What is that?" he asked. "It's like Applebee's. It's good food. You wanna try it?" she asked. "Sure, let's go. I was actually gonna go to McDonald's but this is better. I'll actually be full." John joked. Stephanie directed him to the restaurant and on their way there all John could do was tell jokes.

At the restaurant, Stephanie ordered a steak with mashed potatoes and a diet soda and John ordered a cheeseburger with fries and a soda. While waiting for their food, they ordered appetizers, nachos with salsa.

"So how did you know about this place?" John asked.

"I always come here. Not this late actually. I usually come before coming to the arena so that way after the show is over I can just go home and rest."

"Well so far the food is good! These nachos are awesome! No wonder you gained weight." John joked.

"What!?" she explained.

"Kidding! I'm just kidding! You're perfectly fine no matter what anyone tells you." John explained.

"No, seriously, am I? Because I can't be like that." Stephanie said.

"Oh my God! I was only kidding. Just sit back and relax. Don't take criticism so seriously. If they say something to you, who cares. You do whatever you want." He said. "Yeah, maybe but you know me." Stephanie replied. "Oh yeah! You're not a nice person at times." John joked. Stephanie ripped a small piece of her napkin, rolled it up and threw it at John. "And you call me a child." John joked. "You're lucky you're champion otherwise I'd fire you." Stephanie said. "For what? Calling you fat? You loser." John joked.

The food came and as they ate they continued to talk and joke around.

When they finished eating, they left and John dropped her off at her hotel.

"Thanks a lot for the ride." Stephanie said. "No need to say thanks. We're friends. Besides, you would have been standing out there for hours and no one would show up and end up sick. You owe me, though." John replied. "Yes, I know." She said. She gave him a hug and took her bags from the back and went to her hotel. John stayed until he saw her go inside safely and when he saw she was inside the hotel, he waved and drove to his hotel.


	2. For a Cause

The next day, Stephanie was in her office in Hartford with the writers discussing future storylines. When it was time for a break, she went downsairs to the main lobby and saw John waiting.

"John, what re you doing here?"

"I don't know. Your dad called me up and told me to come down here."

"Is everything okay?"

"I hope so. He didn't mention why he wants to see me."

"I'm sure everything is all right. He probably wants to talk about your match at Royal Rumble."

"Yeah, probably."

"I'll go see if he's free and let him know you're here."

"Thanks."

Stephanie turned back around and went upstairs to the fourth floor to find her father.

Sitting in his office behind an oak desk with a large family portrait of his family hanging behind him, Vince was reviewing comments made about the show last night. He sat back in his large leather office chair and laughed.

"I'm a genius." He grinned.

The door knocked.

"Come in."

"Hi dad. Can I come in?" Stephanie asked sweetly.

"Of course you can! Come on in. What is it, Steph?" Vince asked. "I just wanted to tell you that I saw John downstairs. He said something about you wanting to meet him." She replied. "Oh yes! Good, he's here. Well actually, it involves you too, so just go back downstairs and tell him to come up." Vince explained. "Me? What did you plan this time, dad?" Stephanie asked with her arms folded. "You're going to like my idea, I promise. Just go tell John to come upstairs." Vince answered. Stephanie shrugged her shoulders and went downstairs to find John sitting in the waiting area.

"You can come upstairs. Oh and by the way, it has to do something with me." Stephanie said. "A storyline maybe?" he suggested. "Yeah, maybe. I'm not too sure, he'll tell us." She said. They got into the elevator and went upstairs.

They entered Vince's office and each took a seat in front of him. John noticed the family portrait hanging behind him and couldn't stop staring at the picture of Stephanie.

"Enjoying the moment?" Vince joked. John snapped back into reality and looked at his boss with confusion as Vince and Stephanie laughed. "Sorry, I just like the family portrait. It's nice to have something like that in your office." He pointed out. "Well that's true. My family's important to me and I like to keep them close by even though most of the times we're all scattered around the globe." Vince explained.

"Okay, dad. So why did you wanna see us?" Stephanie asked, changing the subject. "Well, you know that in a month we're going to be in Europe promoting Wrestlemania, and I've decided that while we are there, you both are going to be visiting a hospital with cancer children and spend the day with them." Vince announced. John and Stephanie looked at each other and smiled then looked back at Vince.

"That's a great idea. It'll be nice to give them a little something like that since they don't get to see WWE Superstars too often." John said. "Yeah dad. That's great. Who else is coming with us?" Stephanie asked. "Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Mickie James, and Adam Copeland are going along with you. I haven't officially decided what exactly will be done over there but for now, the main thing is you're going to visit them for the entire day, talk with them, spend some time with them. I know that sometimes the kids get to go outside and walk around the gardens in that hospital which you will be visiting, so maybe you will also take a walk with them. It'll be nice. You'll love it, trust me." Vince said. "No, we will love it. We just didn't know what we were going to do specifically." Stephanie said. "When the time gets closer, I will give you more details." Vince explained. "Sounds good to me." John said. "Yeah." Stephanie agreed. "Okay, great. You guys can go now. I'm glad you two agreed to this." Vince said. "We're glad you thought of this." Stephanie said. The two got up and left Vince's office.

"So you're up for it?" John asked. "Up for what? The thing for next month?" she asked. "No, not that. Skipping a show and we go have lunch. Of course that!" John said with sarcasm. "Yeah, of course. It's a nice thing and why not? I mean… these kids may not live unfortunately so why not make them happy for that one day and even that few minutes with them, they'll cherish forever." Stephanie explained. "God, Steph, with your talent. Even in speeches you have to make it emotional!" John joked. "What can I say? I'm talented." Stephanie boasted. "Yeah, okay." John said and rolled his eyes. Stephanie burst into laughter and John asked what was the matter.

"You rolled your eyes." She answered. "So?" he asked. "I have never seen you do that ever and now that I did… please don't do it again." She suggested. "Why? Too girly for you?" he asked and batted his eyes. "Ew, John, stop. If you're trying to act like a woman, don't. You can't do it. Stay the way you are." She replied. John laughed and sat down on a chair that was in the hallway.

"So why aren't you in your office doing your work?"

"Because I took a break. When I go back I'll just tell the rest of the writers to go home. I'm too tired to go on."

"Even better. Then we can talk about our trip to Europe and what to plan for the kids."

"That sounds okay. Yeah, I'll do that. Just… hmm… just wait in my office. When I tell them to go home, I'll just meet you there and we'll come up with some stuff."

"Okay. When are you gonna go back to talk with the writers?"

"In about 15 minutes. Just come to my office. We'll hang out there for the time being."

The two went down the hall and entered Stephanie's office.

Her office was completely different than Vince's. She had a view of Hartford through her large windows and a glass table with a laptop and papers all over the desk. She had a leather couch sitting to the right of her on the other side of the office and a couple of chairs in front of her for her guests to sit. Instead of a large family portrait hanging behind her, she simply had a small picture frame of her family on her desk.

"Nice room." John said looking around. Stephanie turned around and looked at him. "Nice room? What are you? In high school? What's next? You'll kiss me?" Stephanie joked. "No. It's a nice office. But I have to say room too because of the fact that this _is_ a room but you people want to call it an office because you are using it that way. Put a bed in here and a T.V. along with a DVD player and you got yourself a room." John joked. "You know what, actually, I was thinking of hanging a T.V. up there in the corner." Stephanie said. "For what? To watch your soap operas during your break?" John joked. "Yeah! Why not? I can get some good ideas from them!" Stephanie said. "Yeah, as well as a lawsuit for stealing their ideas." Joked pointed out. "I'll twist some stuff around. It won't be exactly like the ones on television." Stephanie said. "Up to you." He said. He sat down and spun the chair around.

"Wee!" he said with a laugh. "You're such a little kid." Stephanie laughed. John stopped spinning and put his elbows on her table.

"You know you owe me, right?"

"I know."

"So how about we do something?"

"Like what?"

"This weekend… you take me out to dinner."

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Because my family will wonder why we're going out to dinner."

"Tell them it's just… wait, why are you living with them? Don't you have your own place?" John remembered. "Yeah, but I'm close with them." Stephanie answered. "So don't tell them. Tell them you're going out with friends." John said. "Lie to my family? I don't think that's a good idea." Stephanie said. "It's not a lie. It's just a fib." John said. Stephanie sat there thinking about what might happen.

"Steph?"

"I'll tell them something, don't worry. We'll go have dinner this weekend." Stephanie said.


	3. The First Date

Nervous and excited at the same time, John was getting ready for his dinner with Stephanie. After showering and shaving, he looked through his closet to find something decent to wear. His closet wasn't just any ordinary closet. Instead, it was a walk-in closet that was mostly filled with jeans, sports jerseys, t-shirts, sneakers, and caps. He frantically looked thruhg his closet and manged to find a few button down shirts and black slacks.

"Man I gotta go get some more formal clothes." He thought. He decided to go with a blue buttoned shirt with his black slacks along with a white undershirt so he could open his collar. He wasn't going to wear a tie and be too formal. After putting on is cothes, he fixed his hair and took one final look in the mirror. He grabbed his watch along with his car keys and cell phone and went out the door.

Meanwhile, Stephanie was half way finished. She had on a black shirt with a black short sleeved tee. As she was putting on her make-up she kept note of the time because she had to be ready before 8:00PM. Her hair was finished as she finished applying the curling iron to the ttips of her hair and put a pin in her hair to keep it from coming to her face. Noticing the time, 7:45PM, she quickily grabbed her bag and took one final look at what she was taking along with her: make-up, ID, her credit cards, some bills, and her cell phone. She went downstairs and left the bag on the dining table as she went back upstairs to her closet to search for shoes. Knowing that she had hundreds of shoes lined up, she had to narrow her search to ones that were only black. Luckily she sorted them by color. She looked at all of her black shoes and debated on which to wear. She found a pair that had diamond lining across the front and thought they were good enough. As she put them on, she heard the door knock. She went downstairs and opened the door to find John waiting in front of her.

"Wow… you look beautiful." John gasped. Stephanie blushed and giggled. "Sorry, you just look really nice." He said. "You look really nice yourself. I like this formal look. You need to do it more often." Stephanie said. "You think so?" John asked with a big smile. "Yeah! Enough with the jeans and shirts. You need a new gimmick. The nice guy who makes good decisions and for that reason alone you're still champ." Stephanie replied. John stood there actually thinking about it. "You know… that's not such a bad idea." He said as he rubbed his chin. Stephanie opened her door wider and let John in.

"Nice place." He said as he looked around. "Have a seat. I just gotta get a few things and then we can go." Stephanie said. John sat down on the sofa and Stephanie went upstairs to grab her jacket. She came back downstairs, took her bag and went up to John.

"Okay. We can go now." She said.

John got up and as they walked out the door together, he waited as she locked her door and walked her to his car. He opened the door for her and after she sat in he went and sat in and drove to the restaurant.

After being seated in the Italian resturant, La Portofino, they ordered their food and got to talk a bit more.

"This is so weird." John said. "How is this weird? She asked. "Well, you're my boss and I'm taking my boss out to dinner. It's like I have to take you out in order to get a promotion." John joked. "Oh come on, John it can't be that bad. Think of it this way: at least you're comfortable around me and you can make me laugh." Stephanie said. "Yeah I guess." He answered.

Their food came shortly and had their food as they enjoyed the rest of their date. After leaving the restaurant, he decided to take her somewhere special.

"Wait, we're not going home?" she asked. "No. I'm never going to get this chance again so why not make it worthwile?" John asked. "That's not true. There will be more times I'm sure." Stephanie said. "You really think so?" John said. "Who knows. But where are you taking me?" Stephanie asked. "You'll see." He said.

After a long ride, he finally arrived at his destination and told Stephanie.

"You ready to see what's in store for you?" John asked. "Yes." She said. They got out of the car and John walked her up a little hill and showed her a beautiful view of the city.

"Oh my God. It's beautiful up here!" she gasped. Standing beside her, John stared at her with a smile. She looked at him and smiled. "Where in the world did you find out about a place like this?" she asked.

"When I came to meet your dad at the WWE Headquarters for the first time, I came up here by accident and saw this view. So after staying here for a few minutes I went and had the meeting. After finding out I would be working for the WWE, I came up and relaxed my mind." He explained. "Even I'd never been here before. It's so amazing." She said in awe.

John stood closer to her and pointed out the WWE Headquarters to her.

"Oh yeah, I see it! Wow that sign is bright!" Stephanie replied. "Well at least you can see it." He said. Stephanie shivered and John looked at her. "We better get going. It's cold anyway." He said. Stephanie agreed and as she was going down the hill, John helped her and got back in the car.

"So did you have a good time?" he asked. "I've had a great time." She answered. "I'm glad. Right now though, we better get you back home before it gets late." He said as he turned on his car.

He took her back home but as he was driving, the thoughts of Stephanie ran through his mind.

Arriving at her door, John kicked his feet as his head was down and put his hands in his pocket.

"Feeling cold?" She asked him as she tried to look at his face. "No. Just don't really know what to do now." He answered. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Do I give you a handshake? A high-five?" John said. "What? I am not going to high-five you!" Stephanie said as she laughed. "Yeah you're right. That's too stupid." He said with a smile as he looked at her. He saw her smile warmly at him and shook her head.

"You are such a sweet person. Thank you so much for dinner and the beautiful view of the city. I had a really great time." She said. "Yeah, I did too." He agreed. Stephanie gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Drive safe." She whispered in his ear. She looked at John and saw him smile.

"I will. I'm glad you had fun." John said. Sephanie took out her keys and opened the door.

"Goodnight John."

"Goodnight."

She closed the door and John stood there a few seconds thinking about what had just happened that night.

He got back in his car and laughed as he drove home.

Stephanie took off her coat and thought back to her night with John. She changed into a t-shirt and pajama bottoms and sat in her living room as she watched television but the thoughts of John couldn't escape her mind.


	4. An Unexpected Guest

During a Raw event, John was walking around backstage to relax and ease his mind before his big match against Randy Orton for the WWE title. As he was walking, he accidentally bumped into Stephanie who was holding a clipboard and looking down at it and making notes and changes to the show as it was in progress.

"Never have a break, do you?" John joked.

"Not a single one. This is why I'm cranky." Stephanie joked.

"Yeah I noticed." John joked. Stephanie looked at him without cracking a smile. "I'm joking! Laugh, girl!" John said. Stephanie couldn't help but cracked a smile.

"So where are you off to?" he asked. "Nowhere. Just roaming around." She replied as they started to walk together.

"Hey can I ask you something?" John asked. "Of course." She said. He let out a big sigh and paused to think of the right words to say.

"Hey. Is everything okay?" she asked as she stood in place and looked at him. John had his back against the wall and took off his cap. He scratched his head as Stephanie looked on curiously wondering what was going on.

"Last week… when we had dinner. Did you have fun?" he asked curiously. Stephanie chuckled and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Is that what's bothering you?" she asked. "I just want to know if you had a good time or not." He said. "John, I had a wonderful time. Everything was just perfect." She answered. John looked up at her and displayed a smile.

"There you go. I like it when you smile." She said.

John put his cap back on and sat on the table.

"My family is coming over this weekend to my place for dinner. You wanna come over? It'll be fun." Stephanie said. John hesitated before answering.

"I don't know, Steph. You know how I am with your family. I'm completely different from you guys." He explained. "Oh please! Don't give me that crap! You're coming and I don't care what you say." She said. John groaned loudly. "Fine."

"Good. I better get back to work but I'll see you at my place Saturday night at 7:00PM?" she asked. "I'll be there." He said. The two stood there for a few seconds smiling with a sparkle in their eyes.

"You better go get ready for your match." Stephanie said when she snapped out of it. "Oh… yeah. I'll see you Saturday." John said and got off the table. Stephanie walked away and John couldn't take his eyes off her as she walked down the hallway.

That Saturday night, Stephanie was at home with her parents and brother as she prepared dinner. She made a phone call to John wondering if he was still coming.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm on my way right now. I should be there in about 20 minutes." He answered. "Okay great. I just needed to know because dinner is almost ready and I have to know how long I have to delay it for you." She joked. "I'll be there soon." John said. "I'll see you in a bit. Bye." She said. "Bye." He replied and hung up.

"Steph, when are we eating? I'm starving!" Shane complained.

"Quit complaining. You can survive another half hour. You're pudgy anyway. A little weight loss won't hurt." She joked.

"Oh is that right? I wouldn't be talking." Shane said. "Don't even go there!" she warned while pointing a spoon at him. Shane laughed and opened the refrigerator. He searched for something to eat but Stephanie closed it and told him to go sit and wait a while longer. Shane groaned and walked back to the living room as Stephanie began to set the table.

John got out of his car and went and rang the bell. He fixed his shirt and fixed his posture. The door opened and Stephanie greeted him. She let him in and told her family that he will be joining them.

"Oh… well… I guess you can join us." Vince said disappointed. Shane looked at Stephanie and cleared his throat as he sat at the table. Vince raised his eyebrows as he looked at Stephanie but all she did was try to avoid the looks that were given to her by her family.

"So, John… what brings you here?" Vince asked.

"Well I was just walking around backstage and she invited me. I told her I didn't want to come because it was a family thing but she insisted. Stephanie has been a good friend to me, so it's the least I could do." John explained. "So what exactly have you been doing with my sister?" Shane asked rudely. "What?" John asked confused. "You know what I mean." He said. "Sorry, Shane, I really don't." John replied.

"John, I'm sorry. Shane's not having a good day. So don't take anything too seriously from him." Stephanie lied. "Oh." John said innocently.

"John, how's the CD coming along?" Linda asked him sweetly.

"Well it's almost finished. Should be wrapped up by the end of this month. Marc and I are really proud of each other for working hard and making it this far." John said. "I hope it doesn't go too far into your head and up in some rap war like how other rappers are." Vince replied. Like Shane, Vince also didn't like the fact John was invited to dinner. It was supposed to be a family gathering and they felt it wasn't right to bring someone else.

By the end of dinner, Stephanie was in the kitchen cleaning up the countertop and Shane walked in.

"What the hell was that all about?" he demanded as he grabbed her arm. "I should be asking you that! What were you and dad thinking? I invited him over and you give him the third degree!" she exclaimed quietly. "It's John! Have you seen him? Comparing him to us is like comparing an apple to an orange! He is not like us!" Shane replied. Stephanie let go of his grip and turned off the faucet. "I don't care if he's the richest man in the world or a homeless man on the streets… John and I are nothing but friends and I thought it would have been nice to invite him." She said.

"It better be nothing but friendship." Shane warned. "Or what? You're going to control my life again like how you did when I was in high school? You remember that? How you humiliated me in front of my friends? You want to control me like that again? Because you're not going to. I invited him and I don't care if you like it or not. The door is open. You can leave right now if you want." She replied. "If that's how you want it." He said and walked out of the kitchen. He opened the closet near the door and took out his coat.

Shane? Is everything okay?" Linda asked him. "Yeah. I just remembered, I gotta be someplace tomorrow and it's getting late. Steph thanks for dinner and John good seeing you. I'll see you guys Monday at the show." He said and walked out of the house.

John looked over to his right at Stephanie and she slightly shook her head.

"You know, I think it's best if we leave also. It is getting late and I need to be in the headquarters tomorrow morning." Vince replied. "But tomorrow is Sunday." Stephanie pointed it. "I know but I have to go anyway for approvals" he said. "Oh, okay." She said disappointingly. Vince and Linda gave their daughter a big hug and said their goodbye's before leaving.

"I am so sorry for Shane's behavior." Stephanie immediately said as soon as she closed the door. She had her back against the wall and crossed her arms. "Why are you so worried about that? If I don't care, why do you?" John asked. "Because," she started. Stephanie stepped up to John and looked at him. "They have no right to judge you just by the way you dress and act. You're my friend… and I want them to like the people I'm around. They never like the people I'm around." Stephanie explained. "Just ignore it. You choose who you wanna be friends with. Not them." John said. Stephanie nodded and smiled. "Thanks. I needed that."

"I'm happy that I helped but I better get going too." John said. Stephanie's smile immediately turned into a frown. "Do you have to?" she asked. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I'll give you a call tomorrow… if that's okay with you?" he asked. "Yeah, that's fine with me." She answered. "Great!" he exclaimed. He gave a big long hug to Stephanie as she began to laugh.

"Dinner was delicious. You are one great cook!" he said complimenting her. Stephanie blushed and John leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

He grabbed his jacket and left her house. As Stephanie closed the door, she was upset at her family for treating John like garbage while John tried to ignore their treatment towards him. She changed her clothes and went to her bedroom. She laid on her bed thinking about John until finally dozing off to sleep.


	5. Forbidden

In her parents' home, Stephanie was helping her mother with dinner as Vince and Shane were sitting with their friends watching a football game. Stephanie hesitated at first but knew she had to ask her mother about what had happened a few days ago at her home when John was invited over to dinner.

"Honey, John is a sweet man. I'm happy he came but you know how your father is. He doesn't like people who are 'lower' than us." Linda explained.

"But mom, that's stupid. Sure John dresses different and acts different but he tried his hardest to impress you all. He didn't even want to come at first!" Stephanie replied. "I understand that. I did tell your father that his treatment towards John was unfair. He wouldn't listen. You know how he is. He always thinks he's right." She explained. "Can you try and talk to him again and make him realize that John isn't that bad of a guy that he thinks he is?" Stephanie asked. "I will try but not right now. When the time is right otherwise he will think something is up." Linda replied. "Yeah, that's fine. Just to make him get the picture." Stephanie said.

The two finished preparing dinner and everyone ate.

Later that night Stephanie saw Shane and went outside to the porch and talked to him.

"Hey Shane. What are you doing?" she asked as she sat beside him.

"Nothing. Just getting away from the noise. I need to get some peace and quiet." Shane joked. "Yeah, I know what you mean. They're yelling at the television." Stephanie joked. "So what's up?" Shane asked and looked at her. Stephanie looked at him hen looked down.

"Just," she started. She looked at him and shook her head. "Nothing important, really. Just came to talk to you."

"About what?" Shane asked. "The way you were around John. What was that about?" she asked. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "The way you were talking to him. You also left so suddenly. He was wondering if you left because of him." She explained. "Yeah, I did. So?" he asked. "So? What do you mean so? That was so rude." She said. "How was it rude? Him coming to your house was rude. It was supposed to be just family and an unexpected guest is over there." Shane said. "Because I invited him. It's my house and I can invite whomever I please. It doesn't mean that just because family comes over for dinner it has to be family. I wanted John to come over." Stephanie said defending herself. "Why are you getting so angry at the fact I left? I don't like him." Shane admitted. "Why?" she asked. "Steph, look at him and look at us." Shane pointed out.

Stephanie just looked at him not understanding what he meant.

"He wears baggy jeans, shirts three times his size. He raps, he considers himself a thug. Look at us. We're billionaires. We have limos at our door with a simple phone call. We know the richest people all over the world. Do you really think John can be compared to us in that way? We're first class. We're the ones who can buy our way through anything. John… he can't. He's like the average Joe everywhere around us. You can't tell me you can't see that clearly." Shane said. "I can, Shane. I just think that all this money of yours has gone to your head because your ego is much bigger than John's. Shane, does it really matter? He's a nice guy. John hasn't done anything to you at all." Stephanie tried explaining. "That doesn't mean anything. I just don't like the fact that John is around you. You don't need someone like that guy in your life." Shane said. Disgusted at what Shane said, she just got up and left. Shane got up and went after her calling her name but she ignored him. She went upstairs to the bedroom but Shane successfully caught up and stood in front of her.

"You better stay away from John." He warned her keeping his voice lowered. "Or what?" she asked leaning closer to him and crossing her arms. Shane didn't say anything and Stephanie smiled. "You made decisions for me when I was in high school, remember? Well guess what? We're not in high school anymore. I'm a grown woman and I can make my own decisions. I choose to talk with John and be friends with him and there is nothing you can do to stop me!" she said sternly. She walked up the stairs and Shane looked at her before going downstairs.

Vince saw Shane come downstairs in anger and walked over to see what was the matter.

"Shane O! What's going on?" Vince asked. "What's going on? You're stupid spoiled brat of a daughter! That's the problem!" Shane yelled. "Keep your voice down! What the hell happened between you and Steph?" he demanded. Shane exhaled to calm down and walked away from him.

Wanting to get answers, Vince went upstairs to find Stephanie and get some answers from her.

He knocked on the door and Stephanie opened the door to find her father.

"What dad?" she asked in distress. "Steph, what just happened between you and Shane?" he asked. "Nothing, dad. Just leave it." Stephanie said. Vince walked in her room and asked again what was going on between the two of them.

"Dad, if you need to know, I want to know why you and Shane were treating John like he was some sort of animal." Stephanie said.

Vince laughed and sat on the chair by his left. "So this is all about John isn't it?" he asked. "Yeah." She answered. "You wanna know why we acted that way towards him. You want to know why, Steph? Because he has no right being over there in your house!" Vince scolded. "What are you talking about? He has every right to come over." Stephanie said. "Stephanie… you don't understand. John… just look at him. Does he dress in slacks everyday? Does he wear those button down shirts everyday? Tell me, Steph… how does he dress?" Vince asked testing her.

"In jeans and shirts." She answered looking away from him. "Exactly. Stephanie, you know how we are. We are McMahons! We belong on the top! Do you really think we would like to be around people like John? Thugs? Rapper wannabes?" Vince asked. "Dad, he's not like that. If you think he's a threat to me, he's not." Stephanie said. "I'm not saying that. He may be a great guy, but it isn't right for you to be around someone like him." Vince explained. "Why not? What's wrong if I am?" she asked. "Because of your status. Don't lower yourself to their status. Don't bring shame to your family." Vince said. "Dad, I'm not bringing—"

"Enough. I don't want to see you around John again. Do you understand?" Vince demanded. Stephanie lowered her head and nodded. "Good." Vince said and went over to hug her. "It's only for your own good, honey. I don't want nothing to happen to you." He said. He looked at her and smiled. Stephanie didn't smile and Vince tried to look at Stephanie but she began to cry. "Steph there's nothing to cry about, sweetie. We'll discuss this more later, okay? Just go and have fun downstairs." He replied. Stephanie wiped away her tears and Vince left the room.

Ignoring his request, she took out her cell phone and call John.

"Hey! How are you?" John asked.

"I wish I could say great, but I'm not."

What's wrong?"

"It's my family. They're forbidding me from having any kind of relationship with you."

"What? Why?"

"I wish I knew. They said it's because of our status."

"But that's just stupid. That doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"I know! I keep telling them that but they just won't listen."

"Steph, listen. Just relax. Okay? Right now, just leave it. Go have fun, do whatever it is you were doing and in a few days we'll see each other at the pay-per-view and we can talk about it privately. Maybe we can figure something out and convince your family."

"You think that would work?"

"We'll have to wait and see. Don't worry about it. I'll see you in a few days and we'll work something out. Okay? I'll talk to you later I hope. Bye Steph."

"Thanks John. I needed that. I'll see you Sunday. Bye."

She hung up and the small conversation with him helped her feel a bit better. She wiped away the tears and went back downstairs pretending as if it isn't bothering her the least bit.


	6. Rebel

Sunday night, during a pay-per-view, John searched for Stephanie avoiding Vince or Shane before any trouble stirred.

"Hey, Champ. Where you off to?" Ric Flair asked him when John turned at the corner.

"Ric. Hey. I'm just walking around. To relax a little before the match." He lied.

"You'll do great. You're the champ! You're gonna come out on top!" Ric ranted on. John just laughed and nodded his head. "Thanks a lot man, but I better get going. Thanks for making me feel a little better." He replied. "No problem. Anytime." Ric said and patted him on the back before walking away.

John continued to roam around the hallways trying to find Stephanie's office to talk to her. Just as he was about to turn another corner, he saw none other than Shane walk towards him.

"Fuck!" John thought. He tried to act as if he knew nothing and waited for Shane to come up to him.

"Shane, what's up man?" he said with a smile. He and Shane shook hands. "Nothing at all man. What's going on with you? Where you off to?" Shane asked. "Me? Nowhere. Just walking around trying to kill time before my match." He lied. "Yeah, with a guy like Umaga, I don't blame you, bro. Good luck with that." Shane replied. "Thanks, I need that." John laughed. He started to walk away but after taking just a couple of steps, Shane grabbed him by the shoulders to stop and talk to him again.

"Another thing before I forget. What the hell were you doing at my sister's house that other night?" Shane asked. "What are you talking about?" John asked confused. "Don't give me that bullshit. The night when you came over for dinner… what the fuck was that all about?" he asked. "Hold up, Shane, you gotta relax man. She asked me to come only because the other night she was standing in the freezing cold waiting for her limo to come. I took her home and she insisted that I come to dinner." John explained. "It better be that innocent. You have no idea who you're messing with. One wrong thing and I'll come over there and break your legs. You got it?" he threatened. "You're threatening me?" John asked. "Yeah I am. I don't want you near my sister. Guys like you are nothing but trouble. You better watch it now. If I even catch you talking to her… you better pray to God that I don't run over there and smash your head into a wall." He continued.

John laughed at this whole situation. He couldn't believe that Shane was even saying all this. "You really think I'm scared of you?" John asked him. He walked right up to him, eye to eye, tightening his jaw and giving him a cold stare. "You have no idea who the hell you're messing with John. Even if you don't do anything… we can still have you behind bars. You wanna know how? Money. We've got the money and we've got the power. You can be sitting around just watching some television and have you arrested even if you never did a damn thing." Shane explained. "You think I should be scared of that?" John asked. "You think you're some tough guy? With your baggy jeans, your chain, and that backwards cap?" Shane asked when he took a step back. John took off his cap and tossed it aside as he scratched his head.

"You're nothing, John. Remember that. If you even think of coming close to Steph, I'll kill you." Shane replied as he poked him in the shoulder with his finger. He walked away as John looked at him. He took his cap off the ground and sat on the large chest to think about the consequences if he does get involved with Stephanie.

Meanwhile, Stephanie walked by and saw John from a distance. She walked up to him and John just got up and walked away from her.

"John. John! John, what's going on?" she asked as she walked alongside him. John kept ignoring her but that didn't stop Stephanie from finding out why he was acting this way. "John, we were supposed to talk tonight. Why are you ignoring me? What happened?" she continued to ask. She got in front of him to stop him in his path but John just stepped aside and continued to walk.

"John!" she said.

John turned around and walked right up to her.

"You wanna know why I'm not talking to you right now!? Because your family doesn't want to see me with you! That's why! If I even come close to you I am dead! I don't wanna deal with any of that!" John screamed.

Standing there in shock… Stephanie didn't know what to say.

"Yeah… exactly. You don't know what to say. Neither do I. I can't even talk to you because your brother warned me." John said. "Come with me." Stephanie said and pulled him by the arm. "Where are we going?" he asked. "Where is Shane?" she demanded. "I don't know. I just saw him walk straight ahead." He answered.

"Shane has no right to tell anyone if they can talk to me or not!" Stephanie replied. "Steph, calm down. I think it's better if we not go somewhere together." John explained. "John, why are you listening to Shane's threats!? HE is not going to do anything! Shane has been doing this to me since I was in high school! I am sick and tired of him telling me what to do!" Stephanie screamed. "And I don't wanna be around you because I'm scared he'll do something to you!" John yelled.

Stephanie stopped walking and stood against the wall to face John.

"Shane has controlled my life since I can remember. I hated it but back then I was too scared to say something to him. I'm a grown woman. Why should he tell me who I can and can't see or talk with?" she asked. John walked up to her and hugged her. "I can't have him do this to me again, John." She cried.

John saw that she was crying and wiped away her tears. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and hugged her. "It'll be okay. I promise." He said. Stephanie stepped away and began to cry again. She dropped down to the floor and as she cried, John sat next to her and hugged her, trying to comfort her as much as he could. Stephanie got a hold of herself and fixed herself up.

"You feel a little better?" he asked as he helped her up. "Yeah. I'm okay." She answered. She held his hand and walked with him. "Can I ask where we are going?" he asked her. "To find Shane." She said. John stopped her and shook his head. "Steph, whoa. Not a good idea. I think it's just best we sneak behind his back." He explained. "That would be possible… but he needs to know that he's not in charge of anyone. I can do whatever I want to and so can you whether he likes it or not." She explained.

Just then, Shane appeared and saw the two of them together.

"Steph… what's going on here?" Shane asked her. Stephanie and John looked at each other not knowing what to do.

"You," he said looking at John. "What did I tell you?"

"Shane… you need to stop. You can't threaten John from seeing me. He has every right like me to see me and talk to me. What gives you power to tell me who I can and can't talk to?" Stephanie asked. "Steph, look at him! You don't need to be around someone like him!" Shane yelled. "Maybe I do! You don't know what I like and don't like! You wanna why you don't know? Because you always controlled my life! You made the decisions for me and now that I'm finally a grown adult, I still can't make my own decisions because you and dad are still controlling me!" Stephanie yelled. "Because you've made stupid decisions in the past and it's up to me to make sure you don't make anymore stupid decisions to embarrass the family!" Shane lashed out. Stephanie's jaw dropped as she couldn't believe that her own brother would say such a thing. She grabbed John by the collar and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and made sure that Shane would see just how much she enjoyed doing something like kissing John and making Shane furious. When she stopped kissing him, she looked at Shane and smiled.

"Tell me, Shane… just how embarrassing was that for you? Because I sure as hell enjoyed it."

Shane walked up to her and the closer he got, the more Stephanie would step back until she couldn't walk any further back from the wall behind her. "You just wait, Steph. You can go on and enjoy your little rebellious game but when you least expect it… you'll regret everything you did." He warned her.

John pulled him away and faced him.

"You gotta watch it, man. If you're angry at Steph, take it out on me, not her." He replied. "Even better. So that means I can do this, then." He said and punched him across the face. John fought back and shoved him into the wall and an all out brawl started. As Stephanie is trying to pull John away, other WWE superstars ran over to pull them apart. After several attempts, they finally succeeded and as they were going to different places with the WWE superstars, they cursed each other other. Stephanie walked with John until they were finally alone.

"What was that all about?" John asked her.

"John, let me explain. I didn't kiss you because I wanted to make Shane angry." She said. "So then why did you do it?" he asked. Stephanie sat closer to him and looked at him. "Because I'm falling in love with you." She opened up. John leaned closer and kissed her. He started to laugh and pulled away. "What's so funny?" she asked with a smile. "Because I thought it was just me who felt that way." He answered. Stephanie laughed and kissed him one more time before they talked about how they would try and work this out without letting her family know about it.


End file.
